Loyalty Program Parameter Collaboration

ABSTRACT

Collaborative constituents collaborate to develop a loyalty program within a transaction processing system. Transmissions addressed to the collaborative constituents are formed and received from the collaborative constituents containing suggested parameters for the loyalty program. At least one remaining parameter for the loyalty program that a set of remaining collaborative constituents have agreed upon is determined. Another transmission addressed to each of the collaborative constituents in the set of remaining collaborative constituents is formed, the another transmission including the remaining parameters for the loyalty program.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/848,179 filed Aug. 30, 2007, which claims priority to and the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/824,275, filed Aug. 31,2006, 60/824,426, filed Sep. 1, 2006, 60/915,079, filed Apr. 30, 2007,and 60/895,111, filed Mar. 15, 2007, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The present invention generally relates to loyalty programs and moreparticularly, to methods, systems and apparatus for collaborating onparameters of a loyalty program.

BACKGROUND

Loyalty programs provide consumers with incentives to shop at certainloyalty program participating facilities or to show loyalty to aparticular merchant or service provider, such as a financialinstitution. In addition, to receiving discounts or financial awards, anincentive may include redeemable goods or services, or specialrecognition of some sort, such as an upgrade. Often, financialinstitutions, such as an issuing bank or acquiring bank, support theloyalty program. Loyalty programs may be associated with varioustransaction programs such as a credit card program, a charge cardprogram, a debit card program, a prepaid card program, or a gift cardprogram.

A degree of success of a loyalty program is how well it can targetconsumers that will participate in the program in order to receive theincentives described and provided as part of the loyalty program.

These loyalty programs are typically constructed, marketed, qualified,fulfilled, or refined with limited interaction between the variousparticipants of the programs, which may include merchants, financialinstitutions such as acquirers and issuers, transaction handlers such ascredit card companies, and consumers such as an account holder. Forexample, a merchant wishing to participate in a co-branded credit cardprogram may be confined to loyalty program parameters set by the issuingbank such as a credit limit, a bonus mile to purchase ratio, or aredemption option thereby not being able to finely target the merchant'spotential consumers. The level of loyalty program parameter confinementis especially prominent among merchants with a smaller portion of themarket.

Moreover, loyalty programs may be developed with limited access todetailed transaction data. For example, some loyalty programparticipants, such as financial institutions, may rely on their owntransaction data history to determine the type of incentive to provide.However, this data history may be limited in scope depending on thedegree of transaction specificity the issuer collects or is able tomaintain. Similarly, merchants wishing to set up a loyalty program maysolicit financial institutions for information, gaining limited accessto the full scope of the transaction data. Even if a merchant gainsaccess to the transaction data, the transaction data may not be in aform the merchant can effectively utilize.

The lack of uniformity in handing transaction data may hamper accuratecommunication between participants of the transaction program. Forexample, acquirers may identify a single merchant differently; oneacquirer may identify a merchant by its name and address while anotheracquirer may identify the same merchant by its name and franchise storenumber. Similarly, each participant of the loyalty program may beaccustomed to processing transaction data in a particular format thatmay not be the same as the format of another participant of the loyaltyprogram. For example, an airline company may analyze transaction data inunits of “bonus miles per dollar” while an issuer may record dollarsspent per month.

Therefore, packaged loyalty program services of a financial institutionmay not properly meet the needs of merchants that could otherwisebenefit from loyalty programs. Often, loyalty program participants lackdetailed information about transactions and, thus, fail to create aneffective and targeted program that is refined to meet the specificneeds of those funding the programs. It would be an advance in the artto provide a platform for collaborating to develop, implement and refinetransaction programs in a way that lessens the foregoing drawbacks.

SUMMARY

Collaborative constituents within a transaction processing systemcollaborate on developing, implementing, and refining a loyalty program.In one implementation, the collaborative constituents including two ormore of a consumer, an issuer, an acquirer, a merchant, and atransaction handler, collaborate on parameters for the loyalty program.The parameters, for example, may be the duration of a promotion withinthe loyalty program, the good or service promoted, the value of thepromotion, or a loyalty program business rule such as an algorithm todetermine whether a purchase qualifies for the promotion. Thecollaboration may occur through forming of a first transmissionincluding at least one parameter for the loyalty program that iscompliant with at least one predetermined loyalty program rule, such hasa formatting rule for populating a transaction message. The firsttransmission may be addressed to at least one of the collaborativeconstituents. A determination can be made as to which parameters are aremaining set of parameters for the loyalty program that a remaining setof the collaborative constituents within the plurality of collaborativeconstituents have all agreed upon. A second transmission, addressed toeach of the collaborative constituents among the remaining set of thecollaborative constituents, can be sent including the remaining set ofparameters for the loyalty program.

After determining the remaining parameters for the loyalty program arequest to alter the remaining set of parameters for the loyalty programmay be received in a third transmission addressed from at least one ofthe collaborative constituents within the remaining set of thecollaborative constituents is received. A determination can be made asto the alteration to the remaining set of parameters for the loyaltyprogram that each of the collaborative constituents among a secondremaining set of the collaborative constituents have agreed upon. Afourth transmission, addressed to each of the collaborative constituentsamong the second remaining set of the collaborative constituents, can besent including the altered remaining set of parameters for the loyaltyprogram.

In another implementation, a method of collaborating to develop at leastone parameter of a loyalty program for a payment processing systemprocessing is presented. A first transmission is formed including asuggestion for at least one of the parameters and is addressed to atleast one of the collaborative constituents. The at least one remainingparameter that has been agreed upon by a remaining set of thecollaborative constituents within the plurality of collaborativeconstituents is determined. The determining can include receiving one ormore second transmissions, addressed from one or more of thecollaborative constituents, each including at least one of: thesuggestion; a corresponding position selected from the group consistingof favor and disfavor on the suggestion; another suggestion for at leastone of the parameters; and a corresponding position selected from thegroup consisting of favor and disfavor on the another suggestion. Theforming can further include: forming one or more third transmissions,each addressed to at least one of the collaborative constituents, eachincluding at least part of the content of the received one or moresecond transmissions and selecting each of the at least one remainingparameter from among the suggestion and the another suggestion. Theselecting can be based on: a plurality of the received positionscorresponding to each of the suggestion and the other suggestion; and acorresponding compliance of the suggestion and the other suggestion withat least one predetermined loyalty program rule. A fourth transmissioncontaining the at least one remaining said parameter for the loyaltyprogram, can be formed and addressed to each of the remaining set of thecollaborative constituents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of the invention will become more apparent from thedetailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with thedrawings, in which like elements bear like reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating an exemplary system for collaboratingto develop, implement, and refine a loyalty program via a platformconfigured to be accessible to various collaborative constituents;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method for collaboratingto develop, implement, and refine a loyalty program having at least oneparameter;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of an exemplary transaction lifecycle the phasesof which can be facilitated within the environment of the systemillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating an exemplary platform and componentsof a loyalty program;

FIG. 5 is a block level diagram illustrating an exemplary transactionprocessing system that can be part of the system illustrated in FIG. 1;and

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method for utilizing aglobally unique identifier for a merchant to determine an incentive forthe loyalty program.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Implementations enable collaborative constituents to collaborate toconstruct, implement, refine, or a combination thereof, a loyaltyprogram. For example, entities within a transaction processing system(e.g., transaction processing environment) may become collaborativeconstituents collaborating during various phases of the loyalty program.The transaction processing system may be a payment processing systemsuch a system having entities including a credit card company, anissuer, an acquirer, a consumer, and a merchant.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary system or environment is illustratedfor collaborative constituents to collaborate on developing,implementing, and refining a loyalty program 114 via a platform 112.

The collaborative constituent may include a consumer 102 such as anaccount holder in the transaction processing system, an issuer 104, atransaction handler 106 such as a credit card company, an acquirer 108,or a merchant 110. The merchant 110 may be a person or entity that sellsa commodity such as a good, a service, or a combination thereof.Examples of the merchant 110 include: a manufacturer, a distributor, aretailer, a load agent, a service provider, or a healthcare provider. Ina business-to-business setting, the consumer 102 may be a secondmerchant making a purchase from the merchant 110. Third-party processorsmay perform many operational support tasks on behalf of thecollaborative constituent, such as creative agencies, loyalty programmarketing agencies or consultants, business intelligence companies orconsultants, letter shops, Email and Short Message Service (SMS) or Textmessage delivery agencies, and registered card loyalty programcompanies.

A participant of the loyalty program 114 can be, but need not be one ofthe collaborative constituent. For example, the franchisor McDonald'sCorporation may be one of the collaborative constituents having aMcDonald's® loyalty program accessible through the platform 112 and oneof a McDonald's® loyalty program participant; however, a singleMcDonald's® store located in Los Angeles, Calif. may not be one of thecollaborative constituents but be one of the McDonald's® loyalty programparticipant wherein purchases made at the single McDonald's® restaurantwould qualify for the McDonald's® loyalty program.

The platform 112 can be a forum accessible via a network, the Internet,an extranet, a wireless network, a wire line network, a local areanetwork, a wide area network, a messaging system, a correspondencesystem, or a telephone system that is a market place for collaborativeconstituents to interact to construct, implement, and refine the loyaltyprogram 114. The platform 112 may be a part of the transaction handler106 as denoted by broken lines 116 in FIG. 1.

The platform 112 can be scaled to meet the needs of any number of thecollaborative constituents. For example, the platform 112 may beconfigured to accommodate a small or a large number of collaborativeconstituents, globally, in multiple languages.

Moreover, the platform 112 can be scaled to meet the needs of theparticipants of the loyalty program 114. For example, the number ofparticipants of the loyalty program 114 for each entity may vary, suchas having several franchisees as the participants of the loyalty program114 for a single franchisor. Similarly, the platform 112 may beconfigured to allow different numbers of entities to participate in theloyalty program 114. For example, the merchant 110 can be a singlemerchant that may interact with a single financial institution to createand maintain the loyalty program 114. Conversely, a large number ofmerchants can create the loyalty program 114 through interaction with alarge number of financial institutions. For example, all merchants 110selling clothing in the southwest can interact with several banks, suchas Wells Fargo and Bank of America, to create and maintain the loyaltyprogram 114.

Moreover, the platform 112 may be configured to accommodate modularityin the loyalty program 114. The modularity in the loyalty program 114includes the loyalty program 114 that has the characteristic of beingversatile, allowing for a combination of diverse parameters. The loyaltyprogram 114 may be created in an a la carte fashion having parametersthat mimic those in a pre-existing loyalty program and other parametersthat may be unique or did not exist before. For example, the loyaltyprogram 114 may have parameters include a point to cash back ratiomimicking a pre-existing loyalty program.

The collaborative constituents may set up a profile within the platform112. The platform 112 may have a secure Internet setting configured toallow the collaborative constituent access to the platform 112. Theprofile may include information about the collaborative constituent. Forexample, the consumer 102 may set up a profile including informationabout the consumer 102 such as a the consumer's 102 name, the consumer's102 address, the consumer's 102 account number for an account within thetransaction processing system, the consumer's 102 inputted data such aspreference for particular promotion or preference for a channel forreceiving promotions, a promotion category that the consumer 102 wouldlike to receive promotions for, or the consumer's 102 shopping habits,for example. The issuer 104 may set up a profile including informationabout the issuer 104 such as an issuer unique identifier within thetransaction processing system (a global unique identifier (GUID) thatdistinguishes the issuer 104 within the transaction processing system);the issuer's 104 address; standard loyalty program business rulestypically proposed by the issuer 104 for a plurality of the loyaltyprograms 114; the issuer's 104 loyalty program fulfillment options(e.g., credit to statement or cash back); the issuer's 104 standardloyalty program parameters, such as cardholder accounts participating,branding requirements and other business rules; and information on thirdparties that act as proxies to the issuer 104. The acquirer 108 may setup a profile including information about the acquirer 108 such as anacquirer unique identifier (a GUID that distinguishes the acquirer 108within the transaction processing system), the acquirer's 108 address, asettlement request, a acquirer identification for the merchant 110 thatis a client of the acquirer 108, or accumulated merchant daily salereport. The transaction handler 106 may set up a profile includinginformation about the transaction handler 106 such as transactionmessage field formatting requirements, authorization standards for atransaction amount, credit card spending limits by credit card type, ordemographic analysis. The merchant 110 may set up a profile includinginformation about the merchant 110 such as a merchant unique identifier(e.g., a GUID for the merchant 110 that distinguishes the merchant 110within the transaction processing system), a merchant code that may benonunique globally, franchise codes, or a loyalty program business rulesthat the merchant 110 typically utilizes, for example.

The collaborative constituents can access the platform 112, via theInternet for example, to negotiate parameters of the loyalty program 114such that a negotiated set of parameters for the loyalty program 114forms a negotiated agreement to the parameters of the loyalty program114. The negotiated set of parameters for the loyalty program 114 arethose parameters that remain after the negotiation is completed amongthe collaborative constituents, such that the collaborative constituentsleft in the negotiation process all agree to the remaining parameters.Thereafter, the collaborative constituents can implement and refine oralter the remaining parameters of the loyalty program 114, such as bychanging a value of the reward associated with the loyalty program.

Each of the collaborative constituent, such as the merchant 110, maysubmit a proposal, via the platform 112, for the loyalty program 114containing a parameter that governs the creation and/or implementationof the loyalty program 114. The parameter transmitted in the proposalmay be predetermined such that the merchant 110 can pick the parameter ala cart within a menu provided at the platform 112, or the parametersmay be customized. A parameter may include, for example, the duration ofa promotion within the loyalty program 114, the good or servicepromoted, the value of the promotion, or a loyalty program business rulesuch as an algorithm to determine whether a purchase qualifies for thepromotion. To illustrate, the merchant 110 may propose a loyalty programbusiness rule as a parameter having a form of: “if variable one occursthen offer variable two.” Standard promotions that the merchant 110 maypropose include: discounts (e.g., “ten (10%) percent off a purchase ofsocks if you use a Nordstrom® credit card”), rewards, coupons, andspent-and-get promotions. A coupon promotion may be structured such thatif the consumer 102 uses an account associated with the transactionprocessing system to make a purchase at the merchant 110 store thatexceeds $100 U.S. in value, then ten (10) percent will be taken off thepurchase value at the merchant's 110 point of service (POS) device.Similarly, the promotion may be a spend-and-get promotion such as if theconsumer 102 conducts four purchases made with the account associatedwith the transaction processing system at the merchant's 110 store theconsumer's 102 fifth purchase at the merchant's 110 store will result in$10.00 U.S. being credited to the account. Other variables that can beincluded in the loyalty program business rule include: an upgrade in avalue of a commodity being purchased, a discount on a price of thecommodity being purchased, a rebate, a statement credit for an accountwithin the transaction processing system and associated to the consumer120, or a combination of the foregoing.

The merchant 110 may also select the type of the consumer 102 it wishesto target the promotion to at the platform 112. For example, themerchant 110 may want to target the consumer 102 based on geographicallocation or the consumer's 102 transaction history. The merchant's 110proposal may indicate that the promotion should be targeted to theconsumers 102 living within 10 miles from the location of one of themerchant's 110 franchisee stores. Alternatively, or in combination, themerchant's 110 proposal may indicate that the promotion should betargeted to the consumers 102 that have purchased a particular good orservice in the past—such as the consumers 102 that have purchasedbaseball cards at competitor stores within the past two months. Forexample, the merchant 110 may wish to target consumers 102 that havepurchased Digital Video Discs “DVDs” in the past, the transactionhandler 106 may mine a database containing a plurality of the consumer's102 transaction histories, looking for trends of purchases dealing withDVDs. Moreover, once a set of eligible consumers is identified, thetransaction handler 106 may query the merchant 110 to refine the set ofeligible consumers.

An exemplary template for establishing a loyalty program or merchantpromotion (114) on the platform (112) is as follows:

-   -   Merchant Name:    -   Originator's Contact:    -   Date of Request:    -   Description of project:    -   What are the business objectives?    -   Describe the marketing environment: names of competitors,        current attitudes of target audience(s), etc.:    -   Provide logo, if applicable    -   What are the business objectives?    -   What are the main benefits of this project to each audience, in        order of priority?    -   What is the key message we want to communicate to each audience?    -   What do we want each audience to do or believe as a result of        this project?    -   What Transaction Processor materials would provide background        information?(Please attach.)    -   Additional information or direction:    -   What information would help Marketing Communications and Agency        determine the copy tone or style for the overall project?Do        certain components need a different tone?    -   What type of copy input will be provided (copy points,        brochures, Uniform Resource Locators “URLs”)?    -   What information would help Marketing Communications and Agency        determine the design tone or style for the overall project?    -   Are there any print production issues or requirements for this        project?    -   Offer Period:    -   Offer Redemption Process (e.g. coupon, statement credit). (If        using bar codes, specify type, positioning, size and other        requirements here).    -   Will offer be available online?    -   If offer will be available online, provide online code        requirements. Attach additional spreadsheet if needed.    -   Will offer be available via catalog?    -   If offer will be available via catalog, provide code and        requirements.    -   Attach additional spreadsheet if needed.    -   Creative branding guidelines and considerations. If branding        guidelines are available, please provide here as well.    -   Delivery method        -   Letter with coupon        -   Buckslip        -   Insert (if doing an insert, please provide size and specs)        -   e-mail        -   mobile    -   Cashier instructions (to be placed on coupon):    -   Merchant messaging (if applicable):    -   Phone number and/or URL for offer:    -   Who will review each round of creative?    -   How many days should we schedule for originator's group to        review rounds if different than a normal transaction handler        review time?    -   List the primary and secondary target audience(s).    -   Potential audience/segments:    -   Will there be a customer suppression list? If so, please provide        description and date this will be available (see Customer        Suppression File Format)    -   Will a Merchant Store Location List be provided for geo-coding        purposes (if applicable)?    -   Please describe any targeting requirements:    -   Location/Geographies:    -   Type of program output:        -   Qualified Transactions Only        -   Calculated Awards        -   Discounts        -   Bonus Points        -   Statement Credits        -   Discount File    -   Transaction Purchase Start Date:    -   Transaction Purchase End Date:    -   Cardholder Selection Criteria    -   If transactions will be qualified based on cardholder        information, please complete this section.    -   Transactions will be identified at the following level:        -   an Issuer code        -   Issuer Card Range        -   Issuer Bank Identification Number (BIN)        -   Participating/Eligible Cardholder List    -   Approximate number of participating/eligible cardholders:    -   Cardholder files will be updated with the following frequency:        -   Daily        -   Weekly        -   Monthly        -   Other—Please specify below:    -   Transaction files will be delivered with the following        frequency:        -   Daily        -   Weekly        -   Monthly        -   At the end of the promotion period        -   Other—Please specify below:    -   Selection Criteria    -   If transactions will be qualified based on specific information,        please provide selection criteria.    -   Transactions will be qualified based on (check one):        -   Acquirer BIN(s)        -   Merchant Category Codes        -   List of Specific Participating Merchants    -   Merchant Identifiers        -   Merchant GUID        -   Other (specify);    -   Additional Transaction Selection Criteria    -   Please briefly describe any additional targeting qualification        criteria that must be applied.    -   Option Limits    -   Applies only if calculating awards.    -   Program Limits:        -   Money Unit amount        -   Points        -   Number of Awards    -   Please specify below:    -   Option Limits    -   Applies only if calculating awards.    -   Cardholder Limits:        -   Money Unit amount        -   Points        -   Number of Awards    -   Bonus Processing:    -   Please list the bonus point ratio here.    -   Statement Credits    -   How is the program funded?        -   Merchant funded        -   Issuer funded        -   Transaction Processor funded        -   Third party loyalty provider    -   Funding BIN    -   Please specify funding BIN for statement credit processing

An exemplary template for establishing a loyalty program profileincludes:

-   -   1. Please select whether your promotion(s) should be provided        to:        -   a. Consumers        -   b. Small Businesses        -   c. Large corporations        -   d. Government entities        -   e. Other commercial entities        -   f. A combination of the foregoing.    -   2. Please select the objective for your promotion:        (tips/templates on ads/promotions that work for the merchant's        stated industry may be suggested—the tips/templates will change        based upon objectives and the issuer 104 can edit the parameters        and copy etc.)        -   a. Reward existing customers        -   b. Increase spend from existing customers        -   c. Obtain sales from new customers        -   d. Would you like assistance in creating your promotion?    -   3. Provide some targeting parameters:        -   a. Geographical:            -   (i) Region            -   (ii) City            -   (iii) Draw your own borders            -   (iv) Within X miles of your address        -   b. Check the business types that may buy from you        -   c. Include people from previous promotions?        -   d. Would you like to target customers who spend (include            spend bands)        -   e. Would you like to target customers who are similar in            characteristics to your existing customers?    -   4. How would you like your promotion to appear?        -   a. Statement credit        -   b. Coupon        -   c. Point of Service (POS)        -   d. Email        -   e. Mobile        -   f. Statement insert for bank        -   g. Visa or bank promotion site    -   5. When would you like your promotion to first appear?    -   6. What is the promotion period for your promotion?    -   7. What type of reporting do you require?    -   8. Pricing        -   a. What is your budget? (the merchant 110 enters budget and            system provides approximate number of cardholders addressed            based upon parameters selected)        -   b. Enter # of cardholders desired (system calculates pricing            based upon parameters selected)

The other collaborative constituents may negotiate with thecollaborative constituent that submitted the proposal until theparameters of the loyalty program 114 are agreed upon among thecollaborative constituents. For example, the collaborative constituentthat submitted the proposal may receive a response thereto indicatingthat the parameter for the loyalty program 114 is not agreed upon.Consequently, the collaborative constituent that submitted the proposalmay transmit a reply to the response including an alternative parameterfor the loyalty program 114. The negotiation can continue until thecollaborative constituents have agreed on the remaining set ofparameters for the loyalty program.

Thereafter, a loyalty program implementer, such as one of thecollaborative constituents that agreed on a set of parameters for theloyalty program 114, may implement the loyalty program 114. For example,as one of the loyalty program implementers, the issuer 104 maydisseminate a Nordstrom® credit card account number associated with theloyalty program 114 to the consumer 102. Dissemination modes may includedirect mail, email, cellular phone transmissions, and/or messages sentto the consumer 102 via the merchant's 110 POS device (e.g., a messageprinted on the receipt).

When the consumer 102 uses the Nordstrom® credit card account number atthe merchant's 110 POS terminal to purchase a good or service such as apair of socks, a transaction message can be sent from the merchant 110POS to the acquirer 108. The transaction message may include fieldspopulated with transaction data for the purchase such as the date, thetime, a merchant unique identifier, a promotion code, a Stock KeepingUnit (SKU), a Universal Product Code (UPC), manufacturing codes,geographical distribution codes, or sale, license, or hire value such asan item price. The acquirer 108 may send at least portions of thetransaction data for the purchase to the transaction handler 106 thatimplements the loyalty program business rules (e.g., “ten (10%) percentoff a purchase of socks if you use a Nordstrom® credit card”) to thetransaction data for the purchase to evaluate whether the transactionqualifies for the loyalty program 114 and what benefits the consumer 102should receive if the consumer 102 qualifies. The benefit to theconsumer 102 making the pair of sock purchase with the Nordstrom® creditcard account number may be a statement credit on the consumer's 102Nordstrom® credit card account equal to ten (10%) percent of thepurchase price of the socks. The transaction handler 106, as one of theloyalty program implementers, may forward the result of the evaluation,the value of the benefit, or combinations thereof to the issuer 104, themerchant 110, or the consumer 102, for example. The platform 112 mayprovide several tools to facilitate the negotiation process of proposal,response, and reply.

At least a portion of the transaction data for a plurality of purchases,analysis on the transaction data for a plurality of purchases, orcombinations thereof may be accessible to the collaborative constituentsvia the platform 112. For example, the transaction handler 106 may storein a database the transaction data for a plurality of the consumers 102conducting transactions using a respective account within thetransaction processing system associated with the consumer 102. Thetransaction handler may allow collaborative constituents access to aportion of the transaction data for a plurality of the consumers 102stored in the database or a copy of a portion of the transaction datafor a plurality of the consumers 102 stored elsewhere via the platform112.

The transaction handler may analyze the transaction data for theplurality of the consumers 102 using an algorithm and allow access tothe collaborative constituents to the analysis via the platform. Forexample, the algorithm's input may include a portion of the parameterfor the loyalty program (e.g., the promotion, such as socks) and data onone or more purchases from one or more of the merchants by one or moreof the consumers. The algorithm's output may include a quantitativetrend within the purchases as a function of the parameter for theloyalty program or portions thereof. Any conventional or predeterminedalgorithm for data analysis may be used to determine trends within thedata of purchases on the account. For example, data mining analysis suchas Market Basket Analysis, a pattern recognition analysis, optimizationanalysis, statistical analysis, a data mining analysis, algorithmdemographic analysis, classification analysis, or segmentation analysiscan be used. To illustrate, the consumer 102 who has purchased lawn careitems in April for the last four years might be identified as beinghighly likely to purchase lawn care items this April. In anotherexample, general consumer trends may be analyzed to determine highlycorrelative events, such as “consumers who purchased a pair of shoesalso buy a pair of socks within 90 days from the date of purchase of thepair of shoes.” In another example, the consumer 102 purchase behaviortrends may be analyzed to reveal the consumers 102 that spendsignificantly larger amounts in restaurants than average restaurantpatrons.

The collaborative constituents may repeat the process of proposal,response, and optionally reply to refine or alter the remaining set ofparameters of the loyalty program 114 based in part on the transactiondata for a plurality of purchases, analysis on the transaction data fora plurality of purchases, or combinations thereof, for example.

The loyalty program 114 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be any number ofloyalty programs 114 that may be created or maintained within theplatform 112. Moreover, any single of the collaborative constituents maybe involved in any number of the loyalty programs 114 accessible via theplatform 112.

Referring to FIG. 2, an implementation for a method 200 forcollaborating to develop the loyalty program 114 begins at step 202. Atstep 202, a proposal having parameter(s) for the loyalty program 114 isformed. The parameters may include incentives that may be offered to theconsumer 102, limits for the incentives such as a duration for theavailability of the incentive, or the location where the incentive maybe earned, or a specific time of day when the incentive is available.Parameters for the loyalty program 114 may be based on the merchant'scurrent inventory, the merchant's projected future inventory, or themerchant's past inventory of a commodity such as a good or service. Theparameters may also include the loyalty program business rule todetermine whether a purchase qualifies for the promotion or incentivesuch as a spent-and-get promotion or a coupon promotion. For example, acoupon promotion may be structured such that if the consumer 102 uses anaccount associated with the transaction processing system to make apurchase at the merchant's 110 store that exceeds $100 U.S. in value,then 10% will be taken off the purchase value at the merchant's 110 POSdevice at the time of the purchase. Other loyalty program business rulesmay include ratios between the money or value spent and the promotionsuch as: a unit of value spent to a statement credit ratio (e.g.,airline point spend to a credited U.S. dollar ratio); a unit of valuespent to a redeemable point ratio; a unit of value spent to a redeemablemoney ratio; a unit of value spent to a redeemable discount ratio; aunit of money spent to a rebate ratio; a unit of value spent to astatement credit ratio; a unit of money spent to a good ratio; a unit ofmoney spent to service ratio, and combinations thereof.

The proposal may be formed in accordance with a predetermined loyaltyprogram rule. The predetermined loyalty program rule may include ruleson the procedure to form and transmitting the proposal and/or rules onthe content of the proposal for the loyalty program 114. Thepredetermined loyalty program rule for the procedure of forming andtransmitting the proposal may include: the format of the proposal suchas text based message formatting, the prerequisites for submitting aproposal such as identifying the entity making the proposal, orcontractual obligations for transmitting a proposal such as an agreementto negotiate in good faith. The predetermined loyalty program rule forthe content of the proposal may include rules delineating the types ofparameters that can be proposed. For example, the predetermined businessrule may require that the loyalty program 114 involve the use of thetransaction processing system. To illustrate, the predetermined loyaltyprogram rule may require that the proposal for the loyalty program 114must reward the use of a particular brand of credit card. Similarly, thepredetermined loyalty program rule may require that the transactionmessages associated with a transaction be in a particular format, suchas magnetic stripe format having fields that can be populated. Forexample, the predetermined loyalty program rule may include a rule forpopulating the transaction message with an identifier for the merchant110 such as the GUID for the merchant 110, information on thetransaction (e.g., a date or a time of the transaction, a transactionamount, or location), information on the reward (e.g., a value for thereward, an identifier for the reward), or an identifier for a commoditypurchased during the transaction.

At step 204, the proposal is transmitted to a collaborative constituent.A transmission of the proposal can be formed that is addressed to atleast one other collaborative constituent. A third party may transmitthe proposal to the destined collaborative constituent. For example, theproposal can be addressed to the collaborative constituent via an emailaddress. Alternatively, the address can be to a category ofcollaborative constituents such as “all issuers within the transactionprocessing system.” The third party may then transmit the proposal tothe collaborative constituent in accordance with a workflow identifyingthe order of deliver of the proposal addressed to the collaborativeconstituent(s). The workflow may identify a sequence of collaborativeconstituents that should receive the proposal such as in a series orparallel sequence. To illustrate, the merchant 110 may form a proposalfor a spend-and-get loyalty program (e.g., buy two pairs of shoes getthe third pair of shoes free). The merchant 110 may address the proposalto two collaborative constituent that are each issuers 104: Wells Fargoand Bank of America, via the transaction handler 106. The transactionhandler 106 may receive the proposal and send the proposal to both WellsFargo and Bank of America at the same time. The transaction handler 106may analyze the proposal to make sure it comports with the predeterminedloyalty program rule prior to transmitting the proposal to either WellsFargo or Bank of America.

At step 206, a response from the collaborative constituent to thetransmitted proposal is received. The response may be transmitted to theentity that formed the proposal and/or to another collaborativeconstituent via a workflow identifying a predefined order of deliverythereof. In the example above, Wells Fargo may wish to respond favorablyto the merchant's 110 spend-and-get proposal. Consequently, Wells Fargomay respond by indicating that it will help create and implement thespend-and-get loyalty program for the consumers 102 that are accountholders with Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo may also present a counterproposal in its reply stating that if spend-and-get loyalty programavailability to the consumers 102 is limited to the months of Marchthrough May, Wells Fargo can credit the value of the third pair of shoeson the statement of the consumer 102 that is an account holder withWells Fargo such that the consumer 102 can charge the purchase of thethird pair of shoes at the merchant's 110 store but Wells Fargo willapply a credit for the value of the third pair of shoes to theconsumer's 102 Wells Fargo® account. Consequently, the response can beused to further negotiate the parameters of the loyalty program 114being proposed, for example, by containing a favor or disfavor of the atleast one parameter for the loyalty program 114.

The response may contain further detail on how the loyalty program 114can be implemented. For example, the issuer 104 may respond to themerchant's 110 proposal for the loyalty program 114 by indicating howthe issuer 104 may market the loyalty program 114 to the issuer's 104account holders such as: identifying the consumer 102; creating amarketing collateral for the loyalty program 114; delivering themarketing message to at least one of the consumers 102; registering apotential consumer for the loyalty program 114; or a combination of theforegoing.

At step 208, a reply to the response can be formed. The reply may alsobe in accordance with the predetermined loyalty program rule for theloyalty program 114. For example, the reply may state that the merchant110 expresses favor to Wells Fargo's response to the spend-and-getloyalty program proposal further indicating that transaction messagesfrom the merchant 110 for each purchase of the consumer 102 will includea code for the spend-and-get loyalty program so that Wells Fargo candistinguish the consumer 102 that has made a purchase toward thespend-and-get loyalty program at the merchant's 110 store. For example,the merchant 110 may populate a field within the transaction messagewith “SPGT” to distinguish transactions eligible for the spend-and-getloyalty program of the merchant 110. Alternatively, or in combination,the issuer may populate a field within the transaction message with freeform text such as “authorized a third purchase for this customer towardFry's® spend-and-get loyalty program.”

At step 210, the reply is transmitted to at least one collaborativeconstituent. The reply may be transmitted to any collaborativeconstituent such as the collaborative constituent that sent theresponse. For example, the merchant 110 may transmit the reply of favorto Wells Fargo's response by sending the reply in a Short MessageService (SMS) to the transaction handler 106 that forwards the SMS toWells Fargo. Alternatively, or in combination, the merchant 110 mayaddress the reply to Bank of America inquiring if Bank of America iswilling to make a better deal than that sent by Wells Fargo. Bank ofAmerica may transmit a Bank of America response including a set ofparameters that the merchant 110 may find more favorable.

The workflow for the order of delivery of the proposal, response, orreply may be serial (e.g., sequential such that each addressedcollaborative constituent receives the transmission consecutively),parallel (e.g., such that each addressed collaborative constituentreceives the transmission concurrently) or a combination thereof.Moreover, the workflow for the proposal, response, or reply may be thesame as each other or different from each other. The collaborativeconstituent can optionally specify the workflow for the order ofdelivery of each of the proposal, response, or reply.

The steps of 202 through 210 may be repeated until an agreement isreached. For examples, proposals, responses, and replies may containoffers, counteroffers, and acceptances from the collaborativeconstituents developing the parameters for the loyalty program 114. Therepetition of the steps 202 through 210 may take several iterations andcollaborative constituents may participate or stop participating at anystep of 202 through 210.

The business case for parameters can be made during the negotiationprocess (e.g., steps 202 through 210). The collaborative constituentsmay evaluate the business case for the parameter of the loyalty program114 and argue its effectiveness to the other collaborative constituentsinvolved in the negation. For example, the business case may entail:determining a cost and a benefit for the parameter; determining a costand a benefit for not having the parameter; determining a business needthat the parameter may address; performing a gap analysis; determining areason for the parameter; or determining a reasons for one of favoringand disfavoring the parameter.

The collaborative constituents may use analytical tools to determine theeffectiveness of at least one parameter of the loyalty program 114 beingnegotiated. The analytical tools can include: a data mining tool; areporting tool; a metrics tool; a demographics tool; an analytic tool; atargeting tool; a statistic tool; a segmentation analysis tool; a toolfor determining at least a cost and a benefit for the parameter; a toolfor determining at least a cost and a benefit for not having theparameter; a tool for determining the business need that the parameterwill address; a tool for gap analysis; a tool for determining a reasonfor the parameter; a tool for determining the reasons for at least oneof favoring and disfavoring the parameter; or a combination of theforegoing.

The transaction handler 106 may provide the other collaborativeconstituents, via the platform 112, data mining tools and access to aplurality of the consumer's 102 transaction data during the negotiationprocess. For example, the merchant 110, such as a hardware store, maywant to know the transaction history of a plurality of the consumers 102living within 10 miles of the merchant 110 hardware store—specifically,the transaction history of purchases of florescent lights. Thetransaction handler 106 may have access to a database containing thetransaction history of a plurality of the consumers 102 across aplurality of the merchants 110 within the transaction processing system.The transaction handler 106 may allow the merchant 110 access to ananalytical tool, such as a data mining tool, to filter out theflorescent light transaction history of the consumers 102 within tenmiles of the merchant's 110 hardware store. The outcome of theanalytical tool may indicate that only twenty florescent light purchaseshave been made within the last month within the ten mile radius of themerchant's 110 hardware store. The merchant 110 may determine that aloyalty program centered on florescent lights may not be feasible forthe merchant 110. Consequently, the merchant 110 may transmit a replyindicating that the merchant 110 will no longer participate in thenegotiation of the loyalty program 114 that is centered aroundflorescent lights.

At step 212, a negotiated set of parameters to which all remainingcollaborative constituents have communicated favor to the negotiated setof parameters is received, the negotiated set of parameters being theremaining parameters for the loyalty program 114. The negotiated set ofparameters can be the minimum parameters that the collaborativeconstituents need to agree on in order to implement the loyalty program114. The negotiated set of parameters need not have all of the detailsto implement the loyalty program 114. For example, the address for thelocation for all the merchants 110 that will participate in the loyaltyprogram 114 need not be settled. The negotiated set of the parametersfor the loyalty program 114 may be received from at least oneimplementer of the loyalty program 114.

The remaining collaborative constituents need not communicate favor toeach and every parameter in the negotiated set of parameters; rather,the remaining collaborative constituents can communicate favor to thenegotiated set of the parameters. The remaining collaborativeconstitutes can be those that have not expressed a desire to exit thenegotiation process or those that have not contributed to thenegotiation process for a period of time (e.g., days or months), suchthat their lack contribution indicates a desire to exit the negotiationprocess.

The communicated favor for the negotiated set of parameters forms anegotiated agreement to the negotiated set of parameters that can becommunicated to each of the collaborative constituents that remained inthe collaboration and agreed to the negotiated set of the parameters.For example, the I transaction handler 106 may transmit the negotiatedset of the parameters for the loyalty program 114 to the remaining setof the collaborative constituents. The transaction handler 106 maydetermine which of the remaining parameters for the loyalty program 114the remaining set of collaborative constituents have agreed upon asbeing the negotiated set of the parameters for the loyalty program 114.The transaction handler 106 may address a second transmission to each ofthe collaborative constituents among the remaining set of thecollaborative constituents including the negotiated set of theparameters for the loyalty program.

To illustrate, the merchant 110 may be a coffee shop wishing to createand implement a coffee shop loyalty program for its patrons. The coffeeshop owner may form a coffee promotion proposal using an interactiveinterface on a network in communication with the transaction processingsystem, the promotion proposal including a parameter indicating that thecoffee shop loyalty program should have a spend-and-get promotionwherein patrons can purchase ten cups of coffee and receive the eleventhone free.

The coffee shop owner may use an interface device connected to thesystem 100 for collaborating to develop, implement, and refine a loyaltyprogram, such as a cellular telephone with an Internet connection, tolog on to the transaction handler's 106 website and input the proposedspend-and-get promotion parameters using the platform 112. Other formsof interface include: a personal computer, a personal digital assistant,a hand-held computing device, a mobile computing device having telephonyfunctionality, a cellular telephone, a mobile consumer device, and acombination of the foregoing. The coffee shop owner may transmit thecoffee promotion proposal to the issuer 104, a Wells Fargo® bank, viathe transaction handler 106 such that the transaction handler 106receives a first transmission from the coffee shop owner and thetransaction handler 106 send another transmission including at least aportion of the first transmission to the Wells Fargo® bank.

The Wells Fargo® bank can transmit a response indicating favor to thecoffee promotion proposal further indicating that the coffee shoployalty program should be marketed to patrons living within 10 minutesfrom the coffee shop. The coffee shop owner may agree, submitting areply to the response expressing favor to the 10-minute limitation nothaving discussed if the 10 minutes is calculated based on using surfacestreets or the subway. The transaction handler 106 may determine thatthe coffee shop owner and Wells Fargo® bank have agree that thespend-and-get promotion and the 10-minute limitation are the parametersfor the coffee shop loyalty program thereby forming the negotiatedagreement for the coffee shop loyalty program even without knowing ifthe 10-minute limitation is calculated based on using surface streets orthe subway. The transaction handler 106 may determine that both thecoffee shop owner and Wells Fargo® bank have agree to the remainingparameters for the coffee shop loyalty program by polling the number offavor positions received from each of the coffee shop owner and WellsFargo® bank for each of the remaining parameters for the coffee shoployalty program.

Moreover, parameters that do not comply with a predetermined loyaltyprogram rule may be filtered out and not included in the remainingparameter for the coffee shop loyalty program. For example, if thecoffee shop owner may have proposed a parameter for the coffee shoployalty program stating that cash purchases count toward the coffee shoployalty program; however, one of the predetermined loyalty program rulesmay indicate that only credit purchases may apply toward loyaltyprograms developed through the use of the platform 112.

The negotiated agreement for the coffee shop loyalty program, includingthe negotiated set of parameters, can be communicated back to both thecoffee shop owner and the Wells Fargo® bank in a transmission using theworkflow or another workflow identifying another predefined order ofdelivery.

After the negotiated agreement is communicated to each of remaining setof the collaborative constituents, which may include one of the loyaltyprogram implementers, the loyalty program 114 may be refined or altered.The alteration may include renegotiating a parameter within thenegotiated set of parameters or negotiating a new parameter. Therefinement may occur before or after the loyalty program 114 has beenimplemented as long as the remaining collaborative constituents agreethat the negotiated set of parameters can be further negotiated. Forexample, one of the collaborative constituents within the remaining setof the collaborative constituents may address a transmission to thetransaction handler 106 requesting to alter the at least one remainingsaid parameter for the loyalty program. The request may include anaffirmative representation that each of the collaborative constituentsin the remaining set of the collaborative constituents have each agreedto the request to alter. Alternatively, or in combination, thetransaction handler 106, for example, can determine that each of thecollaborative constituents in the remaining set of the collaborativeconstituents have each agreed to the request to alter, such as by takinga pole through electronic communication with each of the collaborativeconstituents among the remaining set of the collaborative constituents.

The steps to alter the remaining parameters for the loyalty program mayinclude similar steps as the negotiation process (e.g., steps 202through 212): a refinement proposal in accordance with the predeterminedloyalty program rule can be formed and transmitted to an addressedcollaborative constituent; a refinement response from the addressedcollaborative constituent can be received, wherein the response is tothe transmitted refinement proposal; a refinement reply to the receivedrefinement response in accordance with the predetermined loyalty programrules may be formed and transmitted; a second negotiated set ofparameters to which all remaining collaborative constituents havecommunicated favor to the second negotiated set of parameters can bereceived, the second negotiated set of parameters being the parametersfor the loyalty program 114 that has been refined; and a secondnegotiated agreement to the second negotiated set can be communicated toeach of the of collaborative constituents among a second remaining setof the collaborative constituents.

For example, the coffee shop owner may use the analytical toolsavailable at the platform 112 to evaluate the performance of thespend-and-get coffee shop loyalty program after it has been implementedfor six months. The analytical tool may isolate all purchases of coffeeat the merchant's 110 store for the past six months across all of theconsumers 102 that made a purchase at the merchant's 110 store. Thecoffee shop owner may determine that sales volume for coffee has notincreased at his coffee shop store in the past six months that thespend-and-get coffee shop loyalty program has been implemented. Theanalysis may provide a comparison of sales volume of the coffee shop ofthe coffee shop owner against other coffee shops in the area. Given theoutcome of the analysis, the coffee shop owner may determine that thespend-and-get coffee shop loyalty program is not cost effective andshould be terminated. Alternatively, or in combination, the coffee shopowner may request that an analysis be done showing sales volume of allspend-and-get loyalty programs involving coffee across a plurality ofthe merchants 110 within a fifteen mile radius. Thereafter, the coffeeshop owner may decide to alter one of the parameter of the spend-and-getcoffee shop loyalty program such as by requiring only five purchases ofcoffee prior to receiving the sixth one free.

A computer program product can be configured to enable a computer tofacilitate the loyalty program 114. Software instructions for enablingthe computer to perform predetermined operations facilitatingconstruction, marketing, loyalty program qualification, fulfillment, andrefinement of the loyalty program 114 can be accessible from a computerreadable medium bearing the software instructions for the methodsbeginning at step 202. For example, the transaction handler 106 maymaintain the computer such as by controlling access to the platform 112,hosting the computer, or controlling the flow of transmissions.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a transaction lifecycle 300 for the loyaltyprogram 114 including the phases of a Before Phase 302, a During Phase304, and an After Phase 306. In one embodiment, the platform 112supports the loyalty program 114 throughout the transaction lifecycle300.

At the Before Phase 302, the loyalty program 114 may be created usingthe platform 112. For example, potential consumer information may beanalyzed at the Before Phase 302 including obtaining one or moretransaction files of corresponding potential consumers, transforming thefiles into readable form, and segmenting and identifying the potentialconsumer of the loyalty program 114. Moreover, negotiations can occurwith collaborative constituents, such as the issuer 104 or the merchant110 to construct loyalty program business rules in order to determinewhat transactions may qualify for the loyalty program 114.

At the During Phase 304, the platform 112 can facilitate informationexchange. For example, information in a transaction message associatedwith a transaction may be relayed to a participant of the loyaltyprogram 114 such as the transaction handler 106 that in turn relays theinformation in the transaction message to the other participant of theloyalty program 114 via the platform 112. Moreover, the information inthe transaction message may be analyzed such as by qualifying andauthenticating non-financial data (e.g., authenticating the GUID for themerchant 110).

At the After Phase 306, the platform 112 can facilitate the refinementof the loyalty program 114. For example, the loyalty program 114 can berefined to better meet the needs and intended goals of the participantsby evaluating the transaction data of a plurality of the consumers 102that have participated in the loyalty program 114.

The actions described for each of the Before Phase 302, the During Phase304, or the After Phase 306, are not limited to a particular phasealone. For example, construction of the loyalty program 114,construction of loyalty program business rules, analysis of information,and negotiation between collaborative constituents, can occur at theBefore Phase 302, the During Phase 304, and/or the After Phase 306. Forexample, at the After Phase 306, a new parameter of the loyalty program114 can be created. Similarly, actions such as facilitating the exchangeof transaction data and analysis of the transaction message can occur atthe Before Phase 302, the During Phase 304, and/or the After Phase 306.For example, at the After Phase 306, the information in the transactionmessage may be analyzed. Moreover, actions such as further qualifyingthe transaction message, refining the loyalty program 114 andfulfillment calculation and realization can occur at the Before Phase302, the During Phase 304, and/or the After Phase 306. For example, atthe Before Phase 302, the loyalty program 114 may be further refined andthe qualifying fulfillment for the loyalty program 114 may occur at theDuring Phase 304 (e.g., discount at the POS).

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating various layers of the platform 112that the collaborative constituent may have access to and the componentsof the loyalty program 114 that the platform 112 can facilitate.

Several layers can support the platform 112 including an access serviceslayer 402, a business logic layer 404, and a data layer 406. The accessservices layer 402 of the platform 112 represents the common datainterface between collaborative constituents. Via the access serviceslayer 402, collaborative constituents can communicate with one anotherin a market place type environment. For example, each collaborativeconstituent may transmit proposals, responses, and/or replies under apredetermined loyalty program rules.

The business logic layer 404 is the infrastructure within the platform112 that supports collaboration between collaborative constituents. Forexample, the business logic layer 404 may include a server, a database,and a program that can determine whether the consumer's 102 transactionfor the purchase of a hammer qualifies for the merchant's 110 loyaltyprogram involving hand carpentry tools.

The data layer 406 represents transaction and participant data, such as(but not limited to) card holder names, addresses, communicationpreferences and history, that may be available to the collaborativeconstituent at the platform 112. The transaction data come from varioussources including: information from the consumer 102, information fromthe issuer 104, information from the acquirer 108, information from thetransaction handler 106, or information from the merchant 110, orinformation from a third party, such as demographics. The informationfrom the consumer 102 may include: the consumer's 102 identificationsuch as name or address, the consumer's 102 account identification suchas account number, the consumer's 102 inputted data such as preferencefor particular incentives, or the consumer's 102 shopping trends. Theinformation from the issuer 104 may include: the issuer's 104 uniqueidentifier, the issuer's 104 address, the issuer's 104 business rules,the issuer's 104 fulfillment options, accumulated information about theconsumer 102 for a period of time (e.g., types of credit cards theconsumer 102 has owned over the past two years), and information onthird parties that act as proxies to the issuer 104. The informationfrom the acquirer 108 may include: the acquirer's 108 unique identifier,the acquirer's 108 address, the GUID for the merchant 110, oraccumulated daily sale report of the merchant 110. The information fromthe transaction handler 106 may include: transaction message fieldformatting requirements, credit card spending limits, credit history, ordemographic analyses. Information from the merchant 110 may include: theGUID for the merchant 110, the merchant's 110 acquirer code, franchisecodes, or the merchant's 110 business rules codes. The information fromthird parties could include such information as household income,marriage status, number of children, homeowner status, and years inhome.

The transaction data may also includes different types of informationincluding: a transaction message; product or service information suchproduct or service type, SKU number, chain of distribution,manufacturing codes, and geographical distribution codes; sale, license,or hire value information such as an item price; loyalty programbusiness rule; loyalty program incentive information such as points,conditions for receiving double points, rewards, or cash back; an offer,negotiation, or a posting transaction cost information such as cost ofprocessing a token transaction.

The collaborative constituents can access the platform 112 to facilitatevarious components of the loyalty program 114 including: a construction410, a marketing 412, a loyalty program qualification 414, a fulfillment416, and a refinement 418 components of the loyalty program 114.

The collaborative constituents may access the platform 112 for theconstruction 410 component of the loyalty program 114. Through theaccess services layer 402, two or more of the collaborative constituentscan interact to construct the loyalty program 114. The construction 410of the loyalty program 114 can include: constructing the business casethat supports a parameter of the loyalty program 114, posting proposals,negotiating proposals, or identifying potential participants. Forexample, the collaborative constituent may choose from predeterminedparameters developed by the transaction handler 106 prior to thenegotiation in constructing the loyalty program 114, negotiating them inisolation or combinations. The collaborative constituent, such as themerchant 110, may transmit proposal containing a parameter that themerchant 110 wishes another of the collaborative constituents to accept(e.g., express favor to), identify the consumer 102 such as a consumergroup desired to become a recipient of the proposal, or elect to receiveinformation from the data layer 406 regarding the consumer 102.

Through the use of the data layer 406, collaborative constituents canconstruct the loyalty program 114 targeting the consumer 102 and theproduct purchased. For example, the loyalty program 114 can be a loyaltyprogram that utilizes high level product information (e.g., a SKU) as atrigger for the loyalty program business rule. The trigger can beproduct category specific “music players,” or product line specific suchas iPod® Nano, or a manufacturer such as Apple Computer, Inc. (e.g. “tenpercent off all Apple Computer® products if you use your Wells Fargo®credit card.”). Consequently, the collaborative constituent involved indifferent levels of the chain of distribution such as a manufacturer, adistributor, a retailer, or the merchant 110, can better target theloyalty program 114 promotion via the platform 112.

Moreover, the collaborative constituent, such as the issuer 104, canmanage its participation in the loyalty program 114 such as during theconstruction 410 component of the loyalty program 114 and through theaccess services layer 402. The managing participation in the loyaltyprogram 114 can include: choosing marketing initiatives; registering theissuer's 104 rewards programs, ensuring that the issuer 104 qualifiesfor certain interchange levels, choosing specific promotions for theconsumer 102 to receive or participate in; selecting a method by whichproposal messages can be delivered; finding the merchant 110 partnersfor proposals the issuer 104 would like to run; posting informationabout proposals the issuer 104 would like to run for the consumer 102such as what type of cardholder qualifies for the loyalty program 114 orhow many cardholders can qualify; obtaining the consumer's 102transaction data; or choosing proposal parameters.

The collaborative constituents may access the platform 112 for themarketing 412 component of the loyalty program 114. The marketing mayinclude sending a marketing transmission containing information based inpart on the remaining parameter for the loyalty program 114 (e.g., buythree hamburgers from Hamburger Co. and get the fourth free), whereinthe third transmission is addressed to at least one of the consumers102. For example, the transaction handler 106 can assist a collaborativeconstituent in the creative development of a marketing strategy, such ascreating the marketing collateral, registering a participant of theloyalty program 114 such as the consumer 102, or delivering a marketingmessage to the consumer 102 via a number of channels such as emaildirect mail, email, text messaging, media advertising, pop upadvertising, telemarketing, or point of sale communication. Theregistering of the participant of the loyalty program 114 can includeregistering collaborative constituents for the loyalty program 114 orregistering entities that are not one of the collaborative constituents.For example, the consumer 102 may send a transmission indicating thatthe consumer 102 wishes to have an account that is rewarded based on theparameters on the loyalty program 114 the consumer 102 received in themarketing transmission.

The collaborative constituent may access the platform 112 for theloyalty program qualification 414 component of the loyalty program 114.The loyalty program business rules may be applied to the transactiondata associated with the consumer's 102 purchase to determine if thepurchase qualifies for the reward associated with the loyalty program114. The transaction data may include data that populate a field withinthe transaction message associated with the transaction such as themerchant unique identifier, the consumer's 102 account number within thetransaction processing system, and information about the product orservice purchased, a code for the loyalty program 114, for example.

The fulfillment 416 component may entail changing the cost of an amountthat is made payable on an account involved in the transaction based ona value of the incentive for the loyalty program 114 or providing valueto the consumer associated with the account involved in the transaction,such as a free cup of coffee.

The collaborative constituent may access the platform 112 for thefulfillment 416 component of the loyalty program 114. For example, oncea transaction, or set of transactions qualify for fulfillment of theloyalty program 114, the transaction handler 106 can facilitatefulfillment of that reward in accordance with one of the remainingparameter for the loyalty program 114. For example, if the loyaltyprogram 114 is the coffee shop spend-and-get loyally program, thetransactions that qualify for the coffee shop spend-and-get loyallyprogram can be electronically tracked and a message sent to a cell phoneof the consumer 102 that the consumer 102 can receive a free cup ofcoffee the next time the consumer 102 goes to the coffee shop owner'sstore. The transaction handler 106 may taking fulfillment actionsincluding: calculate a the value of a promotion; awarding bonus pointsor miles; facilitating providing a statement credit, cash back value, ordiscount value to the participant of the loyalty program (e.g., theconsumer 102); forwarding the part of the transaction data regarding thefulfillment (e.g., the calculated value of the promotion) to another ofthe collaborative constituent or to a support group such as a thirdparty having a contractual obligation with the collaborativeconstituent. The fulfillment actions can occur in real time, as part ofthe clearing and settlement process, or sometime thereafter, forexample.

The collaborative constituents may access the platform 112 for therefinement 418 component of the loyalty program 114. The collaborativeconstituent, can access tools available at the platform 112 such asreporting, metrics and analytical tools, enabling the collaborativeconstituent to get statically generated analysis, dynamically generatedanalysis, or review forward looking promotional calendars to refine thecollaborative constituent's marketing strategies. For example, themerchant 110 may access the platform 112 to evaluate the loyaltyprogram's 114 performance. The merchant 110 may create reports viastatistical software accessible at the platform 112 and determine thedegree that the consumer 102 or any group of the consumers 102 that aretargeted as participated in the loyalty program 114 have changed theconsumer's 102 purchasing behavior based on parameters including:demographics, SKU numbers, store locations, seasonal variances, orconsumer habits of buying related commodities such as shoes and socks.The merchant 110 may decide to refine the merchant's 110 range of theconsumers 102 that are targeted or promotions in the loyalty program 114by continuing the negotiation process, such as steps 201 through 210 ofFIG. 2.

Although illustrated in a progressive manner, the transaction componentsof the following can follow any order or be concurrent: the construction410, the marketing 412, the loyalty program qualification 414, thefulfillment 416, and the refinement 418 components. For example, therefinement 418 component of the loyalty program 114 may occur during themarketing 412 component such as by narrowing the group of the consumers102 that are targeted, the fulfillment 416 component may occur duringthe transaction component program qualification 314 component such aswhen the consumer 102 receives a discount during a purchase, and themarketing 412 can occur during the fulfillment 416 component such asproviding the consumer 102 with a coupon for the next purchase. Othercombinations are readily conceivable to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

As background information for the foregoing description, as will bereadily understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, atransaction such as a payment transaction, can include participationfrom different entities that are a component of a transaction processingsystem. An exemplary such transaction processing system such as atransaction processing environment is depicted in FIG. 5 as a paymentprocessing system 500. The payment processing system 500 includes theissuer 104, the transaction handler 106, such as a credit card company,the acquirer 108, the merchant 110, or the consumer 102. The acquirer108 and the issuer 104 can communicate through the transaction handler106. The merchant 110 may utilize at least one POS terminal that cancommunicate with the acquirer 108, the transaction handler 106, or theissuer 104. Thus, the POS terminal is in operative communication withthe payment processing system 500.

Typically, a transaction begins with the consumer 102 presenting aportable consumer device 502 to the merchant 110 to initiate an exchangefor a good or service. The portable consumer device 502 may include apayment card, a gift card, a smartcard, a smart media, a payroll card, ahealth care card, a wrist band, a machine readable medium containingaccount information, a keychain device such as the SPEEDPASS®commercially available from ExxonMobil Corporation or a supermarketdiscount card, a cellular phone, personal digital assistant, a pager, asecurity card, an access card, a wireless terminal, or a transponder.The portable consumer device 502 may include a volatile or non-volatilememory to store information such as the account number or an accountholder's name.

The merchant 110 may use an acceptance point device, such as a POSterminal, to obtain account information, such as an account number, fromthe portable consumer device 502. The portable consumer device 502 mayinterface with the POS terminal using a mechanism including any suitableelectrical, magnetic, or optical interfacing system such as acontactless system using radio frequency or magnetic field recognitionsystem or contact system such as a magnetic stripe reader. The POSterminal sends a transaction authorization request to the issuer 104 ofthe portable consumer device 502. Alternatively, or in combination, theportable consumer device 502 may communicate with the issuer 104, thetransaction handler 106, or the acquirer 108.

The issuer 104 may authorize the transaction using the transactionhandler 106. The transaction handler 106 may also clear the transaction.Authorization includes the issuer 104, or the transaction handler 106 onbehalf of the issuer 104, authorizing the transaction in connection withthe issuer's 104 instructions such as through the use of business rules.The business rules could include instructions or guidelines from thetransaction handler 106, the consumer 102, the merchant 110, theacquirer 108, the issuer 104, a financial institution, or combinationsthereof. The transaction handler 106 may maintain a log or history ofauthorized transactions. Once approved, the merchant 110 can record theauthorization, and allow the consumer 102 to receive the good orservice.

The merchant 110 may, at discrete periods, such as the end of the day,submit a list of authorized transactions to the acquirer 108 or othercomponents of the payment processing system 500. The transaction handler106 may compare the submitted authorized transaction list with its ownlog of authorized transactions. If a match is found, the transactionhandler 106 may route authorization transaction amount requests from thecorresponding acquirer 108 to the corresponding issuer 104 involved ineach transaction. Once the acquirer 108 receives the payment of theauthorized transaction amount from the issuer 104, it can forward thepayment to the merchant 110 less any transaction costs, such as fees. Ifthe transaction involves a debit or pre-paid card, the acquirer 108 maychoose not to wait for the initial payment prior to paying the merchant110.

There may be intermittent steps in the foregoing process, some of whichmay occur simultaneously. For example, the acquirer 108 can initiate theclearing and settling process, which can result in payment to theacquirer 108 for the amount of the transaction. The acquirer 108 mayrequest from the transaction handler 106 that the transaction be clearedand settled. Clearing includes the exchange of financial informationbetween the issuer 104 and the acquirer 108 and settlement includes theexchange of funds. The transaction handler 106 can provide services inconnection with settlement of the transaction. The settlement of atransaction includes depositing an amount of the transaction settlementfrom a settlement house, such as a settlement bank, which thetransaction handler 106 typically chooses, into a clearinghouse, such asa clearing bank, that the acquirer 108 typically chooses. The issuer 104deposits the same from a clearinghouse, such as a clearing bank, whichthe issuer 104 typically chooses into the settlement house. Thus, atypical transaction involves various entities to request, authorize, andfulfill processing the transaction.

Global unique identifiers, such as GUIDs for the participants of theloyalty program 114, can promote uniformity in the exchange ofinformation amongst the participant of the loyalty program 114 andfacilitate the determination of whether a transaction between theconsumer 102 and the merchant 110 qualifies for an incentive of theloyalty program 114. The GUID for the merchant 110 may take the form ofa random code; an indicator of a franchiser for one or more of themerchants 110; an indicator of a franchisee store number for themerchant 110; an indicator of a corporate entity associated with themerchant 110; an indicator of a merchant category into which themerchant 110 is classified; or a combination thereof. The GUID for themerchant 110 may contain information that can categorize the merchant110 into a merchant category, such as a retail store, having acorresponding merchant code such as “RSTR598183” the first four lettersindicating that the merchant is categorized as a Retail SToRe=RSTR.

The GUID for the merchant 110 can distinguish the merchant 110 fromother merchants within the transaction processing system. For example,an acquirer X may identify a Neiman Marcus® store number 99 by “9999”while another acquirer Y may identify a Safeway® located at 99th Avenuewith “9999.” Because “9999” is not unique within the payment processingsystem, a purchase at Safeway can not be distinguished from a purchaseat Neiman Marcus. On the other hand, if each of the merchants 110 have aunique number within the payment processing system, purchases at each ofthe merchants 110 can be distinguished from one another.

In another example, “HD hardware store” may be a franchisor that has aHD hardware store loyalty program in connection with the issuer 104developed using the platform 112. HD hardware store may have twofranchisee merchants “HD hardware store X” and “HD hardware store Y”each having different acquirers: Acquirer X and Acquirer Y. Acquirer Xmay keep an internal log on franchisee merchant HD hardware store X withan identifier “9999.” Acquirer Y may keep a separate internal log on HDhardware store Y with an identifier “WQ83.” The issuer 104 involved inthe HD hardware store loyalty program may not be able to recognize thathardware store X and hardware store Y have the same franchisor via theinternal identifiers of acquirer X “9999” or acquirer Y “WQ83”respectively; consequently, the issuer 104 may have difficultydetermining if a purchase at each store would qualify for the HDhardware store loyalty program. On the other hand, if HD hardwarestore's franchisee's are each assigned merchant unique identifiers, theissuer 104 may be able to better distinguish HD hardware store X or HDhardware store Y as participants of the HD hardware store loyaltyprogram.

Other transaction data that may also be taken into consideration whendetermining whether a transaction qualifies for the incentive of theloyalty program 114 include: SKU numbers, UPCs, a timestamp for thetransaction, an account GUID (e.g., an account number for an accountwithin the payment processing system associated with the consumer 102),a code identifying the consumer 102 as a valued customer, or a codeidentifying a purchase qualifying for a loyalty program incentive. Thecollaborative constituent, such as the transaction handler 106, cantransform the high level product or service information within thetransaction message into a form usable to the collaborative constituent.For example, the SKU number can be subsequently transformed into bankingindustry file formats, validated, matched to corresponding financialrecords and delivered to the participant of the loyalty program 114 viaa number of different channels.

Referring to FIG. 6, an exemplary method 600 for determining if atransaction between the consumer 102 and the merchant 110 qualifies forthe incentive of the loyalty program 114 begins at step 602. At step602, data characterizing the transaction is received, for example, byone of the loyalty program implementers receiving a notice containingthe data characterizing transaction from the acquirer 108. The datacharacterizing the transaction may be received in a transmission at acomputer, an electrical device having circuitry to receive electricalsignals, or a radio frequency receiving device, for example. Thetransmission may be sent via a computer network, a wireless network, anelectrical communication line, or a combination thereof.

The data characterizing the transaction can include the date of thetransaction; the time of the transaction; an identifier for an accountsuch as the account number of the consumer's 102 account used in thetransaction; a code for the merchant 110 such as the GUID for themerchant 110 (“merchant GUID”); a code for the commodity traded in thetransaction, such a GUID for the commodity (“commodity GUID”), SKU or aUPC of a good or service; or a combination of the foregoing.

The code for the merchant 110 may be nonunique. For example, themerchant 110 may have multiple codes associated with it such as when twoacquirers 108 each have a different indicator for the merchant 110.Alternatively, or in combination, the code for the merchant 110 may benonunique because a single indicator may be associated with multiplemerchants 110 such as when the acquirer 108 has the indicator “XYZ” fora particular Sears® store while another acquirer has the indicator “XYZ”for a Dairy Queen® store.

At step 604, the GUID for the merchant 110 is optionally determinedusing the data characterizing the transaction, for example, thedetermination can occur if the GUID for the merchant 110 is not in thereceived data. An algorithm can be used to determine the GUID for themerchant 110. For example, a code for the merchant 110 that is nonuniquewithin the payment processing system, the merchant's 110 address, a GUIDfor the acquirer, or a combination of the foregoing may serve as inputto the algorithm to determine the GUID for the merchant 110. Toillustrate, the data characterizing the transaction may include a WellsFargo® merchant code “XYZ” as the merchant's 110 code and theinformation that the merchant's 110 acquirer is Wells Fargo® branchnumber 603 located in Chandler Ariz. An algorithm can be used todetermine the merchant's 110 GUID given “XYZ” and the Wells Fargo®branch number because the algorithm may include computer code foraccessing a database linking acquirers, their respective merchant codes,and the GUID for the merchant 110. The transaction handler 106 may haveassigned the GUID for the merchant 110 for example, by using thealgorithm to determine the GUID for the merchant 110.

Multiple identifiers, such as a plurality of the merchant GUIDs, theaccount GUIDs, or the commodity GUIDS, may be stored in a database. Forexample, a loyalty program database may contain a plurality of merchantGUIDs that exist in the payment processing system. Moreover, themerchant GUIDs of those merchants 110 that are participants in a loyaltyprogram 114 can be associated with the loyalty program 114 within theloyalty program database. Similarly, the account GUIDs of thoseconsumers 102 that are participants in the loyalty program 114 can beassociated with the loyalty program 114 within the loyalty programdatabase and the commodity GUIDs of those commodities that areparticipants in the loyalty program 114 can be associated with theloyalty program 114 within the loyalty program database. The loyaltyprogram database can be a network of multiple databases that are eitherco-located or geographically dispersed. The transaction handler 106 maymaintain the loyalty program database.

Moreover, an incentive for a loyalty program, such as the incentive forthe loyalty program 114, may be stored in the loyalty program database.For example, the loyalty program business rule may be stored the loyaltyprogram database such that the incentive may be calculated. Theincentives for each of the corresponding loyalty programs, such asloyalty program 114, may be associated with the corresponding loyaltyprograms within the loyalty program database.

Therefore, a GUID, such as the merchant GUID, may be used as a searchterm within the loyalty program database to facilitate determining ifthe transaction is eligible for an incentive of the loyalty program 114and determining a value of the incentive of the loyalty program 114. Forexample, a search within the loyalty program database using the accountGUID as a search term may reveal that the consumer 102 with the accountGUID is one of the participants of the loyalty program 114 and that theincentive for loyalty program 114 is a $10 U.S. credit toward theconsumer's 102 account associated with the account GUID if the consumermakes a purchase at the merchant's 110 store.

At step 606, a determination is made as to whether the transaction iseligible for the incentive of a loyalty program, such as the loyaltyprogram 114, by using a GUID matching algorithm. Step 606 may includedetermining whether the merchant 110, the account of the consumer 102,the commodity purchased, or a combination of the forgoing areparticipants of the loyalty program 114 by matching the datacharacterizing the transaction, such as the GUID for the merchant 110,with corresponding GUIDs stored in the loyalty program database.Parameters of the loyalty program business rule may determine how manycomponents of the data characterizing the transaction should be matchedwith the corresponding GUIDs in the loyalty program database to satisfybecoming eligible for the incentive.

For example, the loyalty program business rule may have parameters suchthat both the account and the merchant 110 must be participants of theloyalty program 114 for the transaction to be eligible for the incentiveof the loyalty program 114. The determination of the eligibility mayentail matching both the account GUID and the GUID for the merchant 110characterizing the transaction against a plurality of account GUIDs andmerchant GUIDs respectively in the loyalty program database. The loyaltyprogram database of account GUIDs and merchant GUIDs may associate atleast some of the GUIDs with various transaction programs, such as theloyalty program 114. Consequently, when a match exists, informationabout the transaction program can be obtained and a determination madeas to what loyalty program 114 he merchant 110 or the account used inthe transaction may be a participant of.

To illustrate, the consumer 102 may be a participant of a Neiman Marcus®apparel loyalty program. The consumer 102 may purchase a pair of shoesfrom Neiman Marcus® store #33 using the consumer's 102 Neiman Marcus®credit card account. If at step 606 the consumer's 102 Neiman Marcus®credit card account number is matched with a credit card number withinthe loyalty program database of account numbers, information can beobtained about the transaction programs that the consumer's 102 NeimanMarcus® credit card account may be a participant of. If the NeimanMarcus® apparel loyalty program is one of the transaction programs thatthe Neiman Marcus® credit card account is a participant of, the consumer102 may be eligible for receiving an incentive of the Neiman Marcus®apparel loyalty program. Similarly, if the GUID for Neiman Marcus® store#33 matches with a GUID for Neiman Marcus® store #33 in the loyaltyprogram database of GUIDs for merchants, it can be determined whetherthe Neiman Marcus® store #33 is part of the Neiman Marcus® apparelloyalty program.

Moreover, the Neiman Marcus® apparel loyalty program may be such thatonly Salvatore Ferragamo® brand shoes qualify for the Neiman Marcus®apparel loyalty program. The data characterizing the transaction mayhave a GUID for the merchant's 110 commodity (e.g., Salvatore Ferragamo®shoes) such as a SKU number. The SKU number can be matched against adatabase, such as the loyalty program database, of SKU numbers todetermine if the commodity is a participant of the loyalty program. Inthe example, above, if the consumer 102 purchased the pair of SalvatoreFerragamo® shoes, the SKU would match the SKUs in the database; thus thetransaction would be a transaction that is eligible toward the incentiveof the Neiman Marcus® apparel loyalty program.

At step 608, the incentive (e.g., reward) for the loyalty program 114 isderived for the transaction that is eligible for the incentive. Theincentive can be derived using the loyalty program business rule for theloyalty program 114. The loyalty program implementer may use the loyaltyprogram business rule for the loyalty program 114 to determine the valueof the incentive for the loyalty program 114.

One of the collaborative constituents may have developed the loyaltyprogram business rule. For example, the merchant 110 may have developeda business rule for the Neiman Marcus® appeal loyalty program such thatthe consumer 102 may receive $10 U.S. credit toward the consumer's 102Neiman Marcus® credit card account when the consumer 102 purchases apair of Salvatore Ferragamo® shoes at Neiman Marcus® store #33.

One of the loyalty program implementers may facilitate the fulfillmentof the incentive. For example, the transaction handler 106 mayfacilitate the application of a statement credit to the consumer's 102account, if the loyalty program business rule so delineates.Alternatively or in combination, the facilitation may entail assistingother loyalty program implementers to fulfill the incentive, such as byreporting the value of the incentive to a third party agency.

At step 610, information regarding the derived incentive may betransmitted. For example, the value of the derived incentive, the datethe derived incentive was redeemed, the time the derived incentive wasredeemed, past incentive that have been derived for the loyalty program114 can be included in a formed transmission addressed to the merchant110 corresponding to the merchant GUID within the data characterizingthe transaction.

The transmission may be sent to the merchant 110, the loyalty programimplementer, the third party agency, or the consumer 102. For example,the consumer 102 may receive a report of all derived loyalty programincentives that have been applied to the consumer's 102 account for thepast year. Similarly, reports can be derived for transactions involvingthe merchant 110 and transmitted to the collaborating constituents tofacilitate refining the loyalty program 114. The transmission may becreated through the use of a computing device, a telecommunicationdevice, the portable consumer device 502, or combinations thereof.

The data characterizing the transaction or the information regarding thederived incentive may be stored in a database, such as the loyaltyprogram database. For example, the shopping trends of the consumer 102may be analyzed using the loyalty program database containing theinformation regarding the derived incentive and the data characterizingthe transaction.

Information on incomplete matches may be stored and communicated to themerchant 110, the consumer 102, or a combination thereof. For example,the loyalty program 114 may have a loyalty program business ruleindicating that if the consumer 102 makes a purchase of chairs at themerchant's 110 store, the consumer 102 may receive cash back for ten(10) percent of the purchase price. Consequently, in this example, inorder for a transaction to be eligible for the incentive of the loyaltyprogram 114, each of the merchant GUID, the commodity GUID for thechairs, and the account GUID (or account GUID) in the transaction mustmatch corresponding the merchant GUID for the merchant 110 in theloyalty program database, the commodity GUID for the chairs in theloyalty program database, and the account GUID for the consumer 102 inthe loyalty program database. If any of the merchant GUID, the commodityGUID, or the account GUID do not match, the transaction is not eligiblefor the incentive of the loyalty program 114; however, the consumer 102may potentially get the incentive of the loyalty program 114 to incentthe consumer 102 to change their commercial behavior such that theremaining variables of the loyalty program business rule are satisfied.Consequently, a potential incentive may exist when the loyalty programbusiness rule is partially satisfied. A transmission can be formedhaving information on the potential incentive, such as information onthe variables that remain unmatched between the data characterizing thetransaction and the various GUIDs that are stored in the loyalty programdatabase. The transmission may be addressed to the merchant 110 or theconsumer 102.

To illustrate, the consumer 102 may go into a furniture store that ismerchant 110. Both the consumer 102 and the merchant 110 may beparticipants in the merchant's 110 loyalty program for chairs. Theconsumer 102 purchases a table at the merchant's 110 store. At the POS,the merchant 102 receives a transmission indicating the consumer 102 isa member of the merchant's 110 loyalty program for chairs. The merchant110 may convey to the consumer 102 that if the consumer also purchasesthe chairs that go with the table, the consumer 102 may receive a ten(10) percent cash back incentive.

Alternatively, or in combination, the information on the incompletematches can be accumulated in a manner that can be retrieved based on acharacteristic of the information on the incomplete matches. Analgorithm can be used to store the information on the incomplete matchesin the loyalty program database or to filter the information on theincomplete matches. For example, the algorithm may filter theinformation on the incomplete matches such that only those incompletematches involving merchant 110 are retrieved in a set. The set can thenbe transmitted to the merchant 110. Given the set, the merchant 110 mayrefine the parameters of the loyalty program 114 to better capture salespotentials and increase sale value.

Various terms may be used herein, which are to be understood accordingto the following descriptions 1 through 8:

1. Point of Service (POS) devices includes a device capable ofcommunicating with a payment device, where the POS device can include acellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a securitycard, an access card, a smart media, a transponder, personal computer(PC), tablet PC, handheld specialized reader, set-top box, electroniccash register (ECR), automated teller machine (ATM), virtual cashregister (VCR), kiosk, security system, or access system;

2. Account holder or consumer includes any person or entity with anaccount and/or a payment device associated with an account, where theaccount is within a transaction processing system;

3. Issuer includes any entity that issues one or more accounts and/orpayment devices;

4. Merchant includes any entity that supports an POS device;

5. Participant includes any consumer, person, entity, charitableorganization, machine, hardware, software, merchant or business whoaccesses and uses the system of the invention, such as any consumer(such as primary member and supplementary member of an aggregateconsumer account), retailer, manufacturer, and third-party provider, andany subset, group or combination thereof;

6. Redemption includes obtaining a reward using any portion of points,coupons, cash, foreign currency, gift, negotiable instruments, orsecurities;

7. Reward includes any discount, credit, good, service, package, event,experience (such as wine tasting, dining, travel), or any other item;and

8. Portable consumer device includes a card, smartcard, ordinary creditor debit cards (with a magnetic strip and without a microprocessor), akeychain device (such as the SPEEDPASS® commercially available fromExxon-Mobil Corporation), cellular phone, personal digital assistant(PDA), pager, payment card, security card, access card, smart media, ortransponder, where each portable consumer device can include a loyaltymodule with a computer chip with dedicated hardware, software, embeddedsoftware, or any combination thereof that is used to perform actionsassociated with a loyalty program.

It should be understood that the present invention can be implemented inthe form of control logic, in a modular or integrated manner, usingsoftware, hardware or a combination of both. The steps of a method,process, or algorithm described in connection with the implementationsdisclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a softwaremodule executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Thevarious steps or acts in a method or process may be performed in theorder shown, or may be performed in another order. Additionally, one ormore process or method steps may be omitted or one or more process ormethod steps may be added to the methods and processes. An additionalstep, block, or action may be added in the beginning, end, orintervening existing elements of the methods and processes. Based on thedisclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement thepresent invention.

It is understood that the examples and implementations described hereinare for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications orchanges in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the artand are to be included within the spirit and purview of this applicationand scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for collaboration,comprising: providing a loyalty platform in communication with atransaction handler, the loyalty platform configured to be accessed by aplurality of collaborative users through at least one user interface,the plurality of collaborative users comprising a plurality of merchantusers and at least one financial institution user; storing, in at leastone database, loyalty program information for a plurality of loyaltyprograms, wherein each loyalty program of the plurality of loyaltyprograms corresponds to a plurality of loyalty program parameters;receiving, from at least one collaborative user of the plurality ofcollaborative users, a selection of at least one pre-existing loyaltyprogram of the plurality of loyalty programs, the at least onepre-existing loyalty program corresponding to a subset of loyaltyprogram parameters; creating a set of loyalty program parameters basedat least partially on the subset of loyalty program parameters and inputreceived from other collaborative users of the plurality ofcollaborative users, the set of loyalty program parameters comprising atleast a first loyalty program parameter from the subset of loyaltyprogram parameters and at least one other loyalty program parameter;identifying a group of collaborative users that have agreed to the setof loyalty program parameters; and implementing, with the transactionhandler, a customized loyalty program based on the set of loyaltyprogram parameters by comparing values for the set of loyalty programparameters to transaction data for transactions involving the group ofcollaborative users.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein at least one parameter of the set of loyalty program parameterscomprises a business rule as a value.
 3. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein creating the set of loyalty program parameterscomprises: receiving proposals for one or more loyalty programparameters from collaborative users; and facilitating a negotiationprocess among the collaborative users to negotiate the set of loyaltyprogram parameters.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3,wherein identifying the group of collaborative users that have agreed tothe set of loyalty program parameters comprises identifyingcollaborative users that have not exited the negotiation process.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein identifying the group ofcollaborative users that have agreed to the set of loyalty programparameters comprises identifying collaborative users that have notcontributed to the negotiation process for a period of time.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least onepre-existing loyalty program comprises a loyalty program profiletemplate.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thecustomized loyalty program comprises at least one loyalty program modulefrom the at least one pre-existing loyalty program.
 8. A system forcollaboration, comprising: a transaction handler configured to process aplurality of transactions in an electronic payment processing network; aloyalty database configured to store loyalty program information for aplurality of loyalty programs, wherein each loyalty program of theplurality of loyalty programs corresponds to a plurality of loyaltyprogram parameters; at least one processor in communication with thetransaction handler and the loyalty database, the at least one processorprogrammed or configured to: provide a loyalty platform in communicationwith the transaction handler, the loyalty platform configured to beaccessed by a plurality of collaborative users through at least one userinterface, the plurality of collaborative users comprising a pluralityof merchant users and at least one financial institution user; receive,from at least one collaborative user of the plurality of collaborativeusers, a selection of at least one pre-existing loyalty program of theplurality of loyalty programs, the at least one pre-existing loyaltyprogram corresponding to a subset of loyalty program parameters; createa set of loyalty program parameters based at least partially on thesubset of loyalty program parameters and input received from othercollaborative users of the plurality of collaborative users, the set ofloyalty program parameters comprising at least a first loyalty programparameter from the subset of loyalty program parameters and at least oneother loyalty program parameter; identify a group of collaborative usersthat have agreed to the set of loyalty program parameters; and implementa customized loyalty program based on the set of loyalty programparameters by comparing values for the set of loyalty program parametersto transaction data for transactions processed by the transactionhandler involving the group of collaborative users.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, wherein at least one parameter of the set of loyalty programparameters comprises a business rule as a value.
 10. The system of claim8, wherein creating the set of loyalty program parameters comprises:receiving proposals for one or more loyalty program parameters fromcollaborative users; and facilitating a negotiation process among thecollaborative users to negotiate the set of loyalty program parameters.11. The system of claim 10, wherein identifying the group ofcollaborative users that have agreed to the set of loyalty programparameters comprises identifying collaborative users that have notexited the negotiation process.
 12. The system of claim 10, whereinidentifying the group of collaborative users that have agreed to the setof loyalty program parameters comprises identifying collaborative usersthat have not contributed to the negotiation process for a period oftime.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one pre-existingloyalty program comprises a loyalty program profile template.
 14. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the transaction handler comprises the atleast one processor.
 15. The system of claim 8, wherein the customizedloyalty program comprises at least one loyalty program module from theat least one pre-existing loyalty program.
 16. A computer programproduct for collaboration, comprising at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable medium including program instructions that, whenexecuted by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:provide a loyalty platform in communication with a transaction handler,the loyalty platform configured to be accessed by a plurality ofcollaborative users through at least one user interface, the pluralityof collaborative users comprising a plurality of merchant users and atleast one financial institution user; receive, from at least onecollaborative user of the plurality of collaborative users, a selectionof at least one pre-existing loyalty program of a plurality of loyaltyprograms, the at least one pre-existing loyalty program corresponding toa subset of loyalty program parameters; create a set of loyalty programparameters based at least partially on the subset of loyalty programparameters and input received from other collaborative users of theplurality of collaborative users, the set of loyalty program parameterscomprising at least a first loyalty program parameter from the subset ofloyalty program parameters and at least one other loyalty programparameter; identify a group of collaborative users that have agreed tothe set of loyalty program parameters; and implement a customizedloyalty program based on the set of loyalty program parameters bycomparing values for the set of loyalty program parameters totransaction data for transactions processed by the transaction handlerinvolving the group of collaborative users.
 17. The computer programproduct of claim 16, wherein at least one parameter of the set ofloyalty program parameters comprises a business rule as a value.
 18. Thecomputer program product of claim 16, wherein creating the set ofloyalty program parameters comprises: receiving proposals for one ormore loyalty program parameters from collaborative users; andfacilitating a negotiation process among the collaborative users tonegotiate the set of loyalty program parameters.
 19. The computerprogram product of claim 18, wherein identifying the group ofcollaborative users that have agreed to the set of loyalty programparameters comprises identifying collaborative users that have notexited the negotiation process.
 20. The computer program product ofclaim 18, wherein identifying the group of collaborative users that haveagreed to the set of loyalty program parameters comprises identifyingcollaborative users that have not contributed to the negotiation processfor a period of time.